Lopez was shot at close range at 12:50 a.m. Saturday while sitting in the passenger seat of the car, according to deputies. His friend was sitting in the driver's seat at the time but was not shot. Deputies said the shooter walked up to the two whose car was parked on the side of the road and opened fire.

The friend, who is not a suspect, drove Lopez to a nearby gas station and asked employees to call for help, according to deputies.

Lopez was pronounced dead at the gas station.

No one has been arrested and the gun has not been found, deputies said.

"We believe the victim was specifically targeted," Lt. Fred Plageman said. "It's not a threat to the people in the community."

Plageman said the incident is being investigated and the motive is unclear. Few other details were released.

The 2300 block of 17th Ave. was closed while detectives investigated the scene of the shooting.

The neighborhood was relatively quiet Saturday afternoon. Ash from flares remained in the road but no other signs of a disturbance where visible.

Six-year resident James Otts said any shooting is a concern and there have been a few in the neighborhood in the past.

Resident Eric Peterson said he was sleeping when heard the gunshots and car speed away.

"I figured the pops were firecrackers; we hear those all the time," Peterson said. "Then we heard tons of sirens, but there is the Sheriff's substation nearby. It wasn't until later that they told us it was a homicide. It's pretty crazy, you don't really expect anything like that to happen."

The homicide is the 13 in the county. On Thursday, Westside Santa Cruz resident Gayle Mozee-Baum, 54, shot and killed her estranged husband, James "Jimmy" Baum, 61, in front of a house on Lucca Lane, off Soquel Drive, according to authorities. Mozee-Baum then turned the gun on herself. Both died.

Investigators ask anyone with information about this incident to call 454-2311 or the anonymous tip line at 454-2847.

2010 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOMICIDES

Sept. 25: Omar Alejandro Lopez, 22, died from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was shot at close range in the passenger seat of a car near the intersection of 17th Avenue and Rodriguez Street in Live Oak. His friend driving the car took him to a nearby gas station for help where he died.

Sept. 23: Westside Santa Cruz resident Gayle Mozee-Baum, 54, shot and killed her estranged husband, James 'Jimmy' Baum, 61, in front of a house on Lucca Lane, off Soquel Drive near the old drive-in. Mozee-Baum then turned the gun on herself. Both died.

Sept. 9: The badly decomposed remains of a Latino man were found in a wooded area off Casserly Road in rural Watsonville. The man was 18 to 25 years old and 4 feet 8 inches tall, but investigators have yet to identify him. Detectives haven't said how he was killed and no arrests have been made.

July 30: Juan Carlos Garcia, 34, died from a gunshot wound to the head. His body was found in the backseat of his car, parked in a Soquel High School parking lot. Sheriff's deputies say Garcia was a drug dealer and that one of his customers, Federico Castillo Lozoya, 44, of Capitola, killed him. Castillo has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and an allegation he used a gun. In an interesting twist, a jury acquitted Lozoya of a gunshot murder 20 years ago.

July 24: Juli Entwistle, 41, was fatally stabbed in her Morrissey Boulevard apartment. Her boyfriend, 39-year-old Wensy Sanchez, has pleaded not guilty to murder and an allegation he used a knife. Neighbors tried to stop the savage attack, but Sanchez allegedly plunged a large kitchen knife through her neck. He is being held in County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail and will be back in court Oct. 25 for a preliminary hearing. Also, he has told police he is not a U.S. citizen and investigators have said Sanchez has a fraudulent Social Security number.

May 28: Bryan Young, 26, was shot during a drug rip-off on a footpath next to the Branciforte Creek canal and died the next day. Felton resident James Oehler, 23, was arrested when he returned to the crime scene the morning after the shooting, apparently to retrieve the murder weapon. Police found about methamphetamine worth about $400 near where Young was shot. Oehler has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed. His preliminary hearing will be in October.

April 24: Carl Reimer, 19, of Santa Cruz was shot three times at Mission Garden apartments, 90 Grandview St., in what police say was likely a gang-related attack. A 15-year-old friend of Reimer's was not hit in the incident, which unfolded about midnight April 23. Reimer died at Valley Medical in San Jose at 6:45 a.m. April 24. The suspect was described as a thin Latino man, 5 feet 7 inches tall, wearing dark clothing. He fled the scene.

April 15: James Chimblis, 67, fatally shot his stepson, 39-year-old Richard Jones, then turned the gun on himself. The murder-suicide on Hutchinson Road off Highway 35 came days before the two men were due to face each other in court at a trial. Investigators said the double shooting was motivated by the family's financial and legal disagreements.

early March: The skeletalized remains Jose Pablo Galvan, a Mexican national in his early 20s, were found off Highland Way in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The man had been killed at least a year before a hiker found his body. No motive or suspects have been identified.

Feb. 28: Deanna Dudley, 37, died after her boyfriend allegedly hit her in the head with a flashlight during a fight about watching the Winter Olympics on TV in the couple's Felton home. Sheriff's deputies arrested Richard Chavez, 40. He has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and remains in County Jail awaiting an Oct. 4 jury trial.

Jan. 23: Alejandro Nava-Gonzalez, 21, and Oscar Ventura, 18, were fatally shot in an apartment on Canfield Street in Santa Cruz during an argument over a small amount of money. Jaime Galdalmez Guevara, an 18-year-old alleged gang member and heroin dealer, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, attempted murder and special allegations that multiple murders were committed and that he used a firearm. Guevara remains in County Jail and returns to court Jan. 10 for a preliminary hearing.

Nichole 'Nikki' Schrock, 24, of Seaside was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend while she worked at the 7-Eleven at Ocean Street and Broadway in Santa Cruz on New Year's Day. Illya 'IC' Cavlan, 42, of San Jose then turned the gun on himself.

To date, there have been no homicides reported in Capitola, Scotts Valley or Watsonville this year.